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The Guardian
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Owen Farrell opens door to England return after sidestepping social media ‘poison'
Owen Farrell is considering making himself available for England again despite the social media 'poison' that contributed to him stepping back from Test rugby last year. Farrell, who has been picked as captain of the British & Irish Lions in their final midweek tour game, now says he would love to emulate Johnny Sexton and keep playing at the highest level for as long as possible. Farrell, who will turn 34 in September, has not played for England since the 2023 World Cup but has loved his involvement on the current Lions tour of Australia and sounds more open to the idea, if selected, of rejoining the England fold than at any stage since announcing his intention to take a break from international rugby 'to prioritise his and his family's mental wellbeing.' Several of Farrell's Lions colleagues, having seen him slot seamlessly back into a leadership role since replacing the injured Elliot Daly this month, have asked the former England captain about his future plans and he freely admits to being inspired by the example of Sexton, who was still playing for Ireland at the age of 38. 'I'm determined to enjoy what I'm doing and love every minute of however long that I've got left,' said Farrell, who will start at 12 for the Lions against a First Nations & Pasifika XV at Marvel Stadium on Tuesday. 'I'm not old yet. Johnny played forever and I'm obviously a half-back as well. There's loads left in us and I'm just determined to enjoy it. I've come back to make the most of what I am doing. We'll see what happens.' Farrell, sounding as upbeat in public as he has done in many years, has now returned to Saracens after an ill-starred and injury-hit spell at Racing 92 and is clearly relishing his fourth Lions tour since being called up by his father, Andy. His selection prompted a significant reaction on social media, however, and Farrell Jr admits he has not always found the attention easy to cope with. 'There's times where people can say this, that and the other and it just goes over your head. And there's times where you're not in the best place of all time and you're almost waiting for something to set you off. 'I understand that it's different now. I understand that times are different … sometimes [social media] catches fire and just takes a life of its own. It goes wherever it goes and there's momentum behind it. But I don't always understand it, no. If you go and knock on someone's door and ask them their opinion of how you played at the weekend, you wouldn't really listen to their answer. Both [good and bad reactions on social media] are a poison. That's not to say it's all bad but the things that should matter to me and to us as players are the people that matter to us. 'The people I think we should listen to are proper rugby people. Your mates … they'll give you a real answer. If you're in a good place yourself then you can deal with it. There's obviously a lot of external factors that can creep in but ultimately it's up to me how I am. Making sure I'm looking after myself, making sure I'm giving myself a break at times. I'm not someone who needs revving up too much. It's normally the other way, of coming back down and relaxing. So having some perspective and making sure I look after myself in that way will, I think, lead to me being more myself.' If Farrell does return to the England fold it will further increase the options available to the head coach, Steve Borthwick. Fly-halves Fin Smith and Marcus Smith are both on tour alongside Farrell in Australia while George Ford has just reached 100 caps while steering his country to victories against Argentina and the United States. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion For now, though, Farrell is more intent on serving the Lions than fixating on his own prospects of featuring in the last two Tests. 'I think the most important thing is that I come here, be myself and then see where that goes,' said Farrell, chosen as midweek captain by his father ahead of the Wales captain Jac Morgan and England's Jamie George. 'And I mean that genuinely. I'm not saying that but don't mean it. We'll see what happens.' The Lions are also collectively keen to extend their winning momentum ahead of Saturday's second Test against the Wallabies following their 27-19 victory in Brisbane. 'Obviously there is going to be a reaction from the weekend,' said Farrell. 'We need to be ready for that and more.' Those who know Farrell best of all, however, are convinced the Lions have a 'Test match animal' at their disposal if needed. 'The better we train as a non-23 team, the better prepared the Test team are going to be and he has driven that massively,' said George, delighted to be back in the same dressing room as his Saracens teammate. 'He's unbelievably impressive. You don't play with him for a year and it still takes your breath away.'
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Johnny Sexton backs ‘flash' Finn Russell to produce his best on first Lions start
The British & Irish Lions assistant coach Johnny Sexton has insisted that Finn Russell is still 'flash' but believes the Scotland playmaker has the temperament to shine on his first Test start for the tourists against Australia on Saturday. Sexton described Russell as a 'media darling' and as 'flashy' before he was named as one of Andy Farrell's assistant coaches, making for a potentially awkward reunion with Russell upon his appointment. Russell is taking part in his third Lions tour but makes his first Test start, having impressed off the bench in the series decider against South Africa four years ago while he played a bit-part role as one of the 'Geography Six' in 2017. Sexton, who made his Lions debut in Brisbane 12 years ago, admits he has been pleasantly surprised by Russell in Australia and, with the tourists heavy favourites to defeat the Wallabies, believes the Scot can help his side deal with the expectation. 'Oh, he's still flash, yeah! He'd hate it if I said 'no',' said Sexton. 'But in the last couple of years he's come into his own as a 10 and he's been able to manage a team because ultimately that's the main job that he's got, to manage all the guys around him. And then his brilliance will come out, once he's into the game. 'He has been relaxed as always, you wouldn't know it's the week of a Test match. You can see the work he does, though. You have a perception of him from the outside and I would have said the same, in terms of he is a relaxed guy and just takes things in his stride. But he does a lot of work behind the scenes, and he's been really good this week in prepping the team. Hopefully he'll continue his form. 'Like everyone, I think in the last couple of years he's really matured as a player. You can see, Bath getting to finals, winning trophies, you can't do that if you're just that kind of mercurial 10. You've seen that now this year. He's got his team over the line and he's won a few trophies and he's carried that form into here. We always knew, particularly when you're surrounding him with the players he's got around him, he's going to bring the best out of them and they'll bring the best out of him.' Sexton also praised Russell's defensive capabilities with opponents seemingly targeting him as a weak link to date. 'Well, he's been probably our best defender in the backline on this tour so far, I would say,' added Sexton. 'You always knew that was in there, he's a feisty guy out there. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion 'Physically he doesn't look that big but he's fronted up big time on this tour, a lot of impact tackles and we'll need him in that regard because they'll be coming down his channel, I'm sure.' Meanwhile, the Wallabies are confident lightning will not strike twice in Brisbane, 12 years after Kurtley Beale slipped and missed a last-gasp penalty to hand the Lions victory in the first Test. Overnight rain made for wet conditions for Australia's captain's run but Harry Wilson said: 'It's obviously a bit slippery, so it's something we've definitely paid attention to and hope to not make the same mistake.'
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Joe Schmidt plots unlikely Lions scalp amid feeling of ‘now or never' for Australian rugby
Australia v British & Irish Lions Venue : Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane. Kick-off : 8pm local time/11am Irish. On TV : Live on Sky Sports. All day long the atmosphere, colour and monumental sense of occasion had been building. Maybe you have to be here to fully appreciate it, but this really does feel huge, a once-every-dozen-years landmark collision, potentially series-defining. This is the day Lions fans have anticipated for four years. Australian rugby has been waiting for 12 years. READ MORE The Wallabies appear depowered and at a low ebb, but this first Test is simply and commonly referred to as the biggest game of rugby in this country since the last Lions tour in 2013. In the last 24 hours, it has elbowed its way onto the back pages and been the lead item on TV sports news bulletins. The advance battalion of Lions fans were landing on Brisbane. Not all of them wore red; one or two were in Irish green and Leinster blue . The captain's runs were conducted to a Suncorp Stadium echo chamber, where there was an audience with Johnny Sexton, who made his Lions Test debut here in the corresponding match in 2013. British and Irish Lions fans at the Brisbane fan zone ahead of Saturday's first Test. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho Then, as forecast, at teatime came the clap of thunder and soon the rain was bouncing off the ground, emptying the fan zone where three non-playing Lions players had visited. The storm before a different kind of storm perhaps, as the forecast for match day is sunny and mostly dry, albeit the Suncorp is shortly cropped and slick as it accommodates so many rugby teams of both codes. Rugby Australia have sold their tickets and the country will benefit from the mass invasion in red, but the Wallabies need to make hay while the sun shines. They must, at the very least, ensure they are competitive and retain the spotlight on them into next week, not least as this series is two years out from a home World Cup. This next couple of years almost has a now-or-never feel to it if Australian rugby is to regain some of its past glory. How can the depleted Wallabies survive a Lions onslaught? Listen | 19:41 Andy Farrell, Maro Itoje et al want to make history and establish themselves as one of the best Lions' teams ever by winning a series 3-0 for the first time in Australia since 1904. The Wallabies want to revitalise the ailing Australian rugby animal, to be heroes in their own land like others before them, to inspire future generations as they once were by great teams of the past. Admittedly, the Lions appear to have been building nicely and look to be in a stronger moment. Farrell can replace injured players with experienced Test starters. The Wallabies will be without their primary, go-to ball carrier Rob Valetini. They are even deprived of Will Skelton or Langi Gleeson as an alternative. But they do have Joe Schmidt, the scalp-plotting master. Think Chicago 2016, or the All Blacks ending Ireland's 17-match winning run in the World Cup quarter-finals when making 267 tackles and executing an ingenious strike play. He invariably has a plan for Finn Russell and who knows, maybe Tom Lynagh can bring some of his father's game management and calm assurance, or even a sparkle akin to James O'Connor is his first outings as an international outhalf 12 years ago. [ Gerry Thornley's Lions Tour Diary: Take me to Churchie, then Death and Taxes Opens in new window ] With youth comes fearlessness. Maybe fate has called him. Maybe Nick Champion de Crespigny can emulate Justin Harrison's debut in the third Test 24 years ago. And maybe the young 'saviour', Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, can repeat the feats of Israel Folau a dozen years ago which so inspired him to follow in his path. Much is expected from Australia's Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, who has been described in some quarters as the saviour of the sport down under. Photograph:The phoney war up until now was just that, and nothing illustrated it more than the Wallabies pointedly keeping Suaalii's freakish aerial abilities under wraps in their sole warm-up game against Fiji. The Wallabies were keeping their powder dry and even without Valetini and Skelton, there were positive signs in that first period, when but for two marginal calls they'd have gone 28-0 ahead. But without Valetini, the Wallabies look less equipped to take the fight to the Lions on the ground, and so will more likely do so in the air, fully utilising Suaalii. Even when Lynagh was breaking into the Reds set-up as an 18-year-old, his then-coach Brad Thorn thought he had the best kicking game in Australia. This will be the real deal and will be more like cup rugby. The Lions have been playing some good running rugby, playing mostly off '10' and using the full width of the pitch. But it would be no surprise if, initially anyway, the Lions play more narrowly off Jamison Gibson-Park and use their battery of carriers to pummel the Wallabies' close in. With that possibility in mind, - Ellis Genge and Tom Curry look like telling selections more than ones based completely on form to back up Jack Conan. They are also equipped with an array of kickers and after the difficult opening night against Los Pumas, have sharpened their aerial game. They'll probably look to use their lineout maul, build scoreboard pressure and try to take the spirit out of the home team and crowd alike. But so much of this is on the day and almost all of these players are stepping into the unknown. Only Itoje and Tadhg Furlong have played Lions Tests in front of crowds. [ Matt Williams: Charmless Lions have put on a masterclass in how not to win friends since landing in Australia Opens in new window ] 'It was amazing,' said Sexton of his Lions Test debut here 12 years ago. 'At the start of the year, as a player, you go, 'how do I get on the plane?'. That's your whole focus. Then once you are on the plane, it's, 'how do I get in the Test team?'. And then, when you get in the Test team, you don't want to shy away from it. That's the whole thing you have worked for, in your whole career, since these guys were kids. Former Lion Johnny Sexton at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane ahead of the first Test. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho 'So you want to make the most of it. You want to go out there and express yourself and if you get overwhelmed by the experience you are not going to do that. It's about acknowledging it early in the week and coming up with a plan. 'We have got Gary Keegan here this week,' added Sexton in reference to the Irish team's sports psychologist. 'He has been busy in getting guys ready mentally, and getting them ready to come into what's going to be a cauldron.' Sexton's eve-of-match media briefing was a reminder that never before has Irish rugby had such a vested interest in a Lions series. And woe betide the consequences if a series win isn't delivered. Yet this is mixed with a genuine hope, as well as suspicion, that the Wallabies will be suitably inspired to at least make it memorable. They might well do. Over 80 minutes, however, the Lions look to have the greater power and can roar louder. For this week anyway. Australia : Tom Wright (Brumbies); Max Jorgensen (Force), Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii (Waratahs) Len Ikitau (Brumbies); Harry Potter (Waratahs); Tom Lynagh (Reds), Jake Gordon (Waratahs); James Slipper (Brumbies), Matt Faessler (Reds), Allan Alaalatoa (Brumbies), Nick Frost (Brumbies), Jeremy Williams (Force), Nick Champion de Crespigny* (Force), Fraser McReight (Reds), Harry Wilson (Reds, capt). Replacements : Billy Pollard (Brumbies), Angus Bell (Waratahs), Tom Robertson (Force), Tom Hooper (Brumbies), Carlo Tizzano (Force), Tate McDermott (Reds), Ben Donaldson (Force), Andrew Kellaway (Waratahs). * denotes Test debut British & Irish Lions : Hugo Keenan (Leinster/Ireland); Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints/England); Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland), Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland), James Lowe (Leinster/Ireland); Finn Russell (Bath/Scotland), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster/Ireland); Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/England), Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Ireland), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Ireland), Maro Itoje (Saracens/England, capt), Joe McCarthy (Leinster/Ireland), Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Ireland), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks/England), Jack Conan (Leinster/Ireland). Replacements : Ronan Kelleher (Leinster/Ireland), Andrew Porter (Leinster/Ireland), Will Stuart (Bath/England), Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers/England), Ben Earl (Saracens/England), Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England), Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England), Bundee Aki (Connacht/Ireland). Referee : Ben O'Keeffe (NZR) Assistant Referees : Nika Amashukeli (GRU), Andrea Piardi (FIR) TMO : Richard Kelly (NZR) FPRO : Eric Gauzins (FFR) Overall head-to-head : Played 23, Australia 6 wins, Lions 17 wins. Last six meetings : 2001 Australia 13 Lions 29. Australia 35 Lions 14. Australia 29 Lions 23. 2013 Australia 21 Lions 23. Australia 16 Lions 15. Australia 16 Lions 41. Forecast: Lions to win.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Johnny Sexton backs ‘flash' Finn Russell to produce his best on first Lions start
The British & Irish Lions assistant coach Johnny Sexton has insisted that Finn Russell is still 'flash' but believes the Scotland playmaker has the temperament to shine on his first Test start for the tourists against Australia on Saturday. Sexton described Russell as a 'media darling' and as 'flashy' before he was named as one of Andy Farrell's assistant coaches, making for a potentially awkward reunion with Russell upon his appointment. Russell is taking part in his third Lions tour but makes his first Test start, having impressed off the bench in the series decider against South Africa four years ago, while he played a bit-part role as one of the 'Geography Six' in 2017. Sexton, who made his Lions debut in Brisbane 12 years ago, admits he has been pleasantly surprised by Russell in Australia and, with the tourists heavy favourites to defeat the Wallabies, believes the Scot can help his side deal with the expectation. READ MORE 'Oh, he's still flash, yeah! He'd hate it if I said 'no',' said Sexton. 'But in the last couple of years he's come into his own as a 10 and he's been able to manage a team because ultimately that's the main job that he's got, is to manage all the guys around him. And then his brilliance will come out, once he's into the game. Finn Russell lines up a kick during the captain's run ahead of the first Test between the Lions and Australia at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho 'He has been relaxed as always, you wouldn't know it's the week of a Test match. You can see the work he does, though. You have a perception of him from the outside and I would have said the same, in terms of he is a relaxed guy and just takes things in his stride. But he does a lot of work behind the scenes, and he's been really good this week in prepping the team. Hopefully he'll continue his form. 'Like everyone, I think in the last couple of years he's really matured as a player. You can see, Bath getting to finals, winning trophies, you can't do that if you're just that kind of mercurial 10. You've seen that now this year. 'He's got his team over the line and he's won a few trophies and he's carried that form into here. We always knew, particularly when you're surrounding him with the players he's got around him, he's going to bring the best out of them and they'll bring the best out of him.' Sexton also praised Russell's defensive capabilities with opponents seemingly targeting him as a weak link to date. 'Well, he's been probably our best defender in the backline on this tour so far, I would say,' added Sexton. 'You always knew that was in there, he's a feisty guy out there. 'Physically he doesn't look that big but he's fronted up big time on this tour, a lot of impact tackles and we'll need him in that regard because they'll be coming down his channel, I'm sure.' Meanwhile, the Wallabies are confident lightning will not strike twice in Brisbane, 12 years after Kurtley Beale slipped and missed a last-gasp penalty to hand the Lions victory in the first Test. Overnight rain made for wet conditions for Australia's captain's run but Harry Wilson said: 'It's obviously a bit slippery, so it's something we've definitely paid attention to and hope to not make the same mistake.' – Guardian
eNCA
3 days ago
- Sport
- eNCA
Lions ignoring the noise ahead of Wallabies Test
BRISBANE - British and Irish Lions assistant coach Johnny Sexton said his team was taking no notice of bookmakers who have the visitors overwhelming favourites to win the opening Test against the Wallabies. The teams play the first match of the three-Test series at a sold-out Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday, with Australia widely considered the underdogs. The last time they met, in Brisbane in 2013, the Lions edged home 23-21 when Australia's Kurtley Beale slipped while attempting what would have been a match-winning penalty. The Wallabies this time have been hit by injuries to star forwards Rob Valetini and Will Skelton, but Sexton stressed the Lions would not be taking them lightly. "We don't pay too much attention to bookies' odds or what people are saying," Sexton said. "We are just concentrating on tomorrow and trying to put a great performance out there because that's what is going to be needed -- a great performance, not a good performance." The former Irish fly-half made his Lions debut in Brisbane in 2013, playing all three Tests as the Lions claimed the series 2-1. "I think the atmosphere, the crowds, that's the thing that always lives with you," he said. "Obviously, when Kurtley missed the kick the euphoria we felt shows the margins of professional sport, of top-level sport. "It's going to come down to something small like that and hopefully we come out on the right side." Australia will give 22-year-old flyhalf Tom Lynagh his starting debut on Saturday, but Sexton said he was sure the Australian would cope with the pressure. "He's not had much experience internationally, a few games off the bench," Sexton said. "But it seems like he's got a really steady head on him and is a mature guy for his age. "We've looked at a lot of him this week. Once Noah Lolesio was ruled out we knew it would be either him or Ben Donaldson and we've done our homework on them.
